The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant nationwide shutdown propelled automotive companies to make concerted efforts at disciplined use of online and data streaming tools to enable their engineering and product development related activities. ETAuto spoke to stakeholders under the lockdown to find out how the different engineering disciplines are managing to keep calm and carry on.

According to a global survey of automakers and suppliers in Europe, North America and Asia, conducted by IHS Markit, the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on automotive R&D should be concentrated in the coming year, when a major contraction of development and advanced research budgets is expected.

Indian Oil, the nation’s largest refiner and fossil fuel retailer, wants to keep itself relevant to motorists in future should vehicles shift away from polluting fossil fuels under the combined pressure of climate change obligations and technological innovations. Fuel cell vehicles carry a hydrogen tank and produce their own electricity, unlike other electric vehicles.

From May 22, Didi's ride-hailing drivers in Latin America will need to take a selfie with the mask on to pass the AI verification, and from June they will need to report their body temperature to the phone app and upload photos of daily vehicle disinfection works to the phone application.

Many of the driver-assistance features that the new Nvidia system will enable, by contrast, are already available on high-end vehicles with technology from providers such as Mobileye, the Israeli firm owned by Nvidia data center rival Intel Corp.

Volvo, owned by China's Geely Holding, bought a stake in Luminar in 2018 and has been collaborating with the company on developing the technology, which it sees as key for autonomous drive and its initial plan to offer a highway pilot feature.

In order to exhibit the model stretches of national highways as per norms, NHAI plans to develop 57 stretches of NH (1,735 kms) across the length and breadth of the country near each state capital, the NHAI official said. These model stretches will serve as a platform to instruct the highway engineers.